Federal court dismisses defamation lawsuit against Fox News for Jan. 6 conspiracy theory

CROTON, N.Y. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday threw out a defamation lawsuit against Fox News by a former Donald Trump supporter who said he received death threats when the network aired false conspiracy theories about his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection.

Raymond Epps, a former Marine, was falsely accused by Fox of being a government agent causing trouble near the Capitol that day so that it would be blamed on Trump fans.

U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Hall in Delaware granted, without comment, Fox’s motion to dismiss the case.

Epps was the subject of a “60 Minutes” interview in 2023, shortly before filing his lawsuit. He claimed that he and his wife sold an Arizona ranch where they lived and moved because of the harassment they faced because of the reports.

Epps had named Tucker Carlson, who was fired from Fox in April 2023 for reasons never fully explained, as being the most active promoter of the conspiracy theory. At the time, Carlson hosted Fox’s most popular show.

In a statement, Fox News on Wednesday cited two other defamation lawsuits against the company that were also recently dismissed. They involved former Biden administration disinformation expert Nina Jankowicz and Tony Bobulinski, one of Hunter Biden’s former business partners.

“Following the dismissals of the Jankowicz, Bobulinski and now Epps cases, Fox News is pleased with these back-to-back decisions from federal courts preserving the press freedoms of the First Amendment,” the network said.